What's in a Name
by BookwormKiwi
Summary: Chase finds Cameron in the nursery, and she knows he knows it's not her first visit. ChCam


A/N: Written for a challenge, 'Names', at lj community candycanedreams. I actually wrote it ages ago, and didn't post it here for some reason - probably didn't think it was good enough. Found it again, decided I rather liked it, even though it's a little not set out well.

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Cameron sat quietly. She didn't want to disturb the babies. Most of them were sleeping, but one or two were peacefully lying in their cribs with their eyes wide open, kicking out every now and then.

"Cameron?"

She turned around to find Chase coming up behind her. She smiled at him and turned back to watch the sleeping infants.

"What are you doing up here?" Chase wanted to know.

"It's my break," Cameron shrugged. Chase puled up a chair next to her.

"House wants to talk to you," he told her.

Cameron took a while to respond, watching one baby suck the corner of her blanket.

"About what?"

"His clinic duty," Chase frowned. Cameron let out a breath of air, which could have been interpreted as a sigh, but wasn't.

"You can tell him I'll be down when my break's over."

Chase nodded but didn't move. The silence between them was made up for by the soothing breathing of the babies and the soft, constant beeping of a machine in the corner.

"Which one would you have?" Cameron asked, not turning to look at him.

"Have?"

"I'd take Annabel," she said, pointing to a baby further away from them. Taking a closer look, Chase would agree that the child had a certain way about it that immediately made her more likeable than the others – as crazy as that sounded. Even as she slept, the corners of her mouth were turned up slightly, and she had two miniscule fingers between her lips.

"I wouldn't take any," Chase said thoughtfully after a while. Cameron wondered if that meant he didn't want children, but he answered before she could work up the nerve to ask.

"I'd make my own."

That surprised Cameron. Not that he did, in fact, want a family, but what he said, exactly. She didn't show it, though.

"Not even Jamie?" she asked, gesturing to a sleeping boy in front of them. Chase looked closer at the name card attached to the crib.

"That says his name's David."

Cameron smiled.

"I don't look at their names."

"What's Annabel's real name, then?" he asked her, perplexed, easily locating her amidst the dozen or so faces in the nursery.

"I don't know," she said. "I don't look at them."

"Have you got names for all the others?"

Cameron pointed to a crib sporting a large teddy bear. "That one's Caleb." She pointed to the one next to him. "That's Josie." Next to her. "Chloe." Next. "Angel." Behind her. "Felicity."

'Are there reasons behind these names?"

Cameron shrugged. "Sometimes. See that one over there? I called her Roxanne – it means bright, star – because look at her eyes. Aren't they beautiful? But her? She just looks like a Natalie, don't you think?"

Chase smiled. He really didn't have an opinion.

"Do you come up here often?"

"You tell me," Cameron said.

"What?"

"How else would you know to find me up here if you didn't know I came here every day?"

This was true, and Chase chose not to reply. He leaned forward in his seat, watching a baby girl stir, flailing her tiny limbs. She looked more like a newborn than the others, though Chase wasn't sure if she was younger than them, or just smaller.

"What's her name?" Chase asked, pointing at the child.

"Serena," Cameron replied, "because she never cries. She always wakes and looks around, then waves her arms in the air for attention. The nurse always makes sure to look out for her."

"Is there something wrong with her?"

"Don't know. I don't think so. I think she's going to be the perfect baby."

Chase wanted to go over and pick her up, but he realised why Cameron was sitting so far away.

"I'll let House know," Chase said, in way of greeting, and headed towards the door.

"You're welcome to stay." Still, she wouldn't look at him. "You don't even have to talk to me. Just sit and watch."

Chase turned sharply. She was leaning back in her chair, silently observing the ward.

"Maybe tomorrow," he said cautiously, disappearing down the corridor. Cameron turned and watched him leave. Making sure he was out of earshot, she moved to stand over one baby's crib and said quietly, "He'll come back, Robert. Maybe not tomorrow, but I'll introduce him to you. See what he thinks about that, hey?"


End file.
